Family, friends remember William Gannett

Sunday

He washed them often, telling his children to get him a sponge and a shammy when they asked what he wanted for Christmas.

“He loved them,” his son, W. Bristow Gannett, said Saturday. “He’d put them away and if we would go for a ride, if there was just a cloud in the sky, they would go right back into the garage.”

Some of that drive for cleanliness also applied to the streets of Hopedale.

Gannett, known affectionately as Bill, would often stop and pick up trash alongside the road; a small way he could help keep Hopedale - which he called the “best place to live” - pristine.

In the other ways he could give back to the community, he did, by serving on the Board of Selectmen, through local charities and on the board of Milford Regional Medical Center.

“He did these things not because he had to, but he wanted to,” Don Crowell, his son-in-law, said. “He truly loved this place. He wanted to give back.”

Gannett, a former selectman, longtime Hopedale resident and the last surviving grandchild of Gov. Eben Sumner Draper, died on July 4 in Laconia, New Hampshire.

He was 93.

Gathered inside Hopedale Unitarian Church for a memorial service Saturday morning, his family and friends recalled his sense of humor and constant ability to give back: be it by working to renovate the historic Little Red Shop or by the gifts he gave his grandchildren.

Gannett - a father of five, grandfather of four and great-grandfather of four - put his family above all, they said.

“The most important lesson we ever learned was there is nothing more important than family,” said Mary Crowell, his daughter.

Born Oct. 9, 1923 in Boston, Gannett was the son of Thomas B. Gannett and Dorothy (Draper) Hamlen. He joined the Air Force before graduating high school in 1943 serving through the end of World War II in Europe.

In 1947, he began working at the textile machinery giant, Draper Corp., before marrying his wife of 64 years, Nancy (Farnam) Gannett, in 1949. She passed away in 2013.

Gannett, the last Draper descendant to live in Hopedale, was a partner and founder of DREX Associates before he retired.

In Hopedale, Gannett served 13 years as a selectman while also serving on the board of the Hopedale Community House, the Hopedale Charitable Corp. and the Hopedale Foundation.

At the Milford Regional Medical Center, Gannett served as board president and was a trustee emeritus.

“Bill Gannett was a pillar, a patriarch, an elder - not only of this church, but of this community,” said the Rev. Tony Lorenzen, of Hopedale Unitarian Church.

His generosity earned him quite a collection of awards, that often made Gannett, shying away from accolades, uncomfortable, Don Crowell said.

“He did this because that’s what good civic-minded people like Bill (do)...they give back,” Don Crowell said. “He and Nancy did that….Even though they’re gone now, the legacy and impact will be felt in this community for years to come.”

Christopher Gavin can be reached at 508 634-7582 or cgavin@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @c_gavinMDN